Project Mirror
by Moon made of Ink
Summary: <html><head></head>Orochimaru tried to perform an experiment to make a new Kekki Genkai, and he thinks he failed, so he tosses the girl he experimented in one of rooms with his minions so they could kill her. What he doesn't know, is that it worked.</html>
1. Bloody Mirrors

**Ok, let's get something straight. This story is a little gory. Not a lot, but you know just a heads-up. I do take request and I need ideas for this, and other stories! Please…anyways… KAKUZU! DSCLAIMER!**

**Kakuzu: FINE! Don't need to yell!**

**Moon made of Ink: well TOO BAD!**

**Kakuzu: "Ok, Moon made of Ink DOES NOT own Naruto, and thank Kami she doesn't."**

**Moon: "Damn right."**

**Full Summary: **Orochimaru tried to perform an experiment to make a new Kekkei Genkai, and he thinks he failed, some he tosses the girl he experimented in one of the rooms full of his minions so they could kill her. When he leaves the base, they attack, and she kills them all. What Orochimaru _doesn't _know, is that his experiment was perfect. Shinju, the girl he used, just sat there for days in panic and shock. Kakuzu is sent alone to search the area for research, and comes across the young girl who's surrounded by bloody mirrors. When the Akatsuki see potential, they accept her, but she's having trouble accepting them from past experiences with bad trust, and it's affecting her mission's progress. The only person she really trust's is Kakuzu, so what does he have to do to make her reflect happiness and trust?

**Project Mirror**

**Chapter One: Bloody Mirrors **

**No One's P.O.V.**

It was quiet. The walls are made of stone, the only light was coming from the many candles in the hall-way. Each hall-way has many doors, some had silences enhancing them. Others had screams of terror. One room has three figures.

The tallest of the small group, has long, black hair, with extremely pale skin. His eyes are those of snakes. This man is currently watching an operation. The other was also male; he has round glasses and silver hair. He had every surgery tool known to man on a metal tin, covered in blood. There is another person, on the operating table. The only indication of a gender difference was the small chest she has. Her eyes are covered by a cloth, her limbs tied down to the table.

Her screams filled the silence, filling it with agony. She tried to speak, but they gagged her with another cloth. They lifted the cloth on her eyes and pointed a needle to them. She tried her best to keep them closed but the silver man forced them open. As soon as they where, he slid the needle in her pupil. She couldn't move as the searing liquid filling her whole eye. They started to change color; it was originally a plain brown, now it was pitch black with silver linings.

"Now Kabuto," the black haired man stated to his student. "Change the physical appearance of the Kekkei Genkai Vessel." He said. His voice was that of evil, it was crawling with darkness. The girl started crying in pain and fear. If she could speak, she would beg them to stop. He cut open her arms with a scalpel knife, and extracted her bones. If they wouldn't come out, he would snapped some of them and pulled them out. The pain was so intense, that the girl passed out from the painful feeling. Her face was covered in her own blood.

The man, Kabuto, replaced the bone with mirrors. He did this to her arms, legs, rib cage, fingers, toes, sections of her spine and face. After that process, he did a sloppy stitching job.

"The operation is done. Project Mirror is complete, as you wished, Orochimaru-sama." He bowed, even as he is still covered in the blood of his _"patient." _Orochimaru smiled.

"Now, awake her, I'll perform the seals." Kabuto nodded and turned back to the girl. He injected her with yet another liquid in her neck, a few seconds lasted before she awoke. As soon as she gained full consciousness, she struggled to get away once more from the man in front her. He made 10 quick hand seals, grabbed her neck, and lifted her off the table. With his free hand, he placed a finger on each of her eyelids. His fingers glowed silver for a few seconds and settled. The girl went limp in his grip. Orochimaru set the girl leaning up on the table and waited a few moments. Soon, she woke up once more. Only this time, she was different.

She didn't struggle, she stayed calm, her hair wasn't brown anymore. It's snow white with black 'X's' randomly placed in her shoulder length straight hair. The only thing that stayed the same, was her eyes. They were black, they where lifeless. They didn't stray, they stayed in place. Only now, they held no life. Her eyes were glazed over. "Little girl, do you know who I am?" no response. The snake man tensed. "Do you know where you are?" still nothing. He began to get annoyed with her. "Do you even know your own name?" the girl did nothing, not even a head nod or shake. "Dammit! Kabuto, the operation has failed. No, Project Mirror has failed." Orochimaru punched an innocent table that just happened to be conveniently placed.

"What shall we do with the girl, Lord Orochimaru?" the paled man thought for a moment. "Should we keep her for other experiments?" the other man just shook his head.

"The mission has failed, we tried to make an unstoppable Kekkei Genkai, but it turned out to be a fluke. As for the girl, we'll toss her to my other subjects. They haven't had any play-things in a while and they're starting to kill each other off." He picks up the girl who's in a vegetable-like state, and dragged her out the door. After a few minute's of walking, they came to a pair of double doors that are covered in new and old blood. Once he opened the door, he saw hundreds of his minions. Some where in corners rocking back-and-forth, some where leaning against the wall, and what's left are already dead or they are currently trying to kill each other. "Hellooo my pets." He eyed each one with hunger. "I have a new doll for you to play with. Be gentle, she breaks easy." Orochimaru tossed the girl in the room with some more force than necessary, and closed the door behind him. "Come Kabuto, we need to check on the other, _operations._"

**Several Day's later in the Akatsuki Base.**

**Kakuzu's**

I sat there really, really annoyed. I was counting my money dammit! Whatever, I waited as Leader read through a file on his desk. After a few minutes of waiting, he spoke.

"Kakuzu, several days ago, a report said one of Orochimaru's Hideout was demolished by an unknown force and is now abandoned. I want you to see if that is true. The reason I chose you for this mission, was because I want you to find _anything_ that is of value. We all know about your fetish for money." I sweat-dropped.

"Umm, Leader I wouldn't call it a fe-"Leader cut me off.

"Doesn't matter!" He coughed and regained his serious face again. "Anyways, you are to leave in an hour and you are to do this mission by yourself. Dismissed." I bow and leave the room. Doing solo missions are better; you can go at your own pace with no annoying partners. I was already packed so I just made a hand sign and poofed out of the base. Taking out the scroll again, I examine it once more. _A three day trip to-and-from south, base normally has a snake symbol, but to tell now is that it's a big heap of rubble with strange glass spikes out of it in all directions. _Odd, if the Akatsuki scroll said that it's strange, then something's up. I look down the road I was suppose to take and start walking. As far as I know, this will be one Hell of a mission.

**Unknown Girl's P.O.V.**

It hurts. It hurts so much. I…I couldn't remember. The last thing I remember was a bunch of evil monsters charging at me. I had to attack, even though I don't know how.

I panicked. I don't know where I am, or who I am. The only thing is, that man. That terrible man. I couldn't fight him, I was too weak.

I wanted to beat him to hell. Something hit me, just now. I know who I am. I am nothing; I am just a servant to the man known as Orochimaru. Nothing, just a failed vessel. I've been sitting here for several days now, and now someone is coming.

**No One's P.O.V.**

The five-hearted Akatsuki member traveled through the seemingly quiet forest. No animals where around, the birds weren't singing. Something was up. Kakuzu slowed his pace and scanned the area for chakra.

_'30 meters south. What an incredible chakra source.' _He added chakra to his feet and takes off towards his destination. When he arrives, the scene was horrific! The entire base was destroyed. Long silver spikes shot out in all directions, some as long as 50 feet, and crimson was dripping down on some of them. As he looked at some of the spikes, he could see people and unnamable creatures being pierced through all parts of there body by the odd spikes.

As he got to the building, or now rubble pile, Kakuzu expected there to be traps, or more of the spikes, but nothing happened. As he inspected the mountain of rock and wood, the tiniest sound of a glass breaking entered his ear. His eyes scanned the scene for any signs of life. When none found, he turned around to become face-to-face with one of the spikes. Kakuzu could see his own reflection from it, like a mirror. As he placed his hand on it, he felt a pulse of chakra. The pulse keeped waving at the beat of a heart.

"I see." One of the black strings came out of him and wrapped around the odd material. As he traveled deeper into the cavern of waste, he kept the string attached as a track cover. In no time at all, the destroyed walls disappeared,and the whole area was just a cavern of the mirror spokes. As he tried to jump from spike to spike, his vision became disoriented. Everywhere he looked, he could see his reflection. With these mirrors everywhere, it is hard to tell what's what. As Kakuzu closed his eyes, he usedmore of his strings to find his way. After the strings wove through the labyrinth of mirrors, a clearing was found. He re-traced the path and came to a large clearing.

It's beautiful, to say the least, well some parts anyways. The room is big and circular. The walls where covered in mirrors, the floor made of a silver dust. Several mangled bodies laid everywhere with gapping holes in them. As Kakuzu's eye focused to the center of the room, he wasn't really sure what it was. All the spikes he saw before, leading to the very center of this room.

The origin of the spikes had no real figure. The only thing he could see is a head of a young girl. Her eyes are pitch black, her hair is shoulder length and silver with random black 'X' symbols scattered around her hair, like a design. All the spikes lead to her. The thing that really caught his eye, is the sloppy stitch-job along her right cheek and the jaw line on the left of her face. Who ever did it, did it in such a low quality, that it was almost sickening. He was about to turn around to report back to the base, but then the girl started mumbling.

"I… no one." He turned around, surprised by the fact that she could speak, let alone still be alive.

"If your still alive then you should find the strength to speak loud and clear." He retorted. As he was about to depart once again, she spoke again, this time, you where able to tell what she's saying.

"I am no one. I am Orochimaru-sama's servant. I am his slave. I am a mere vessel in which he could live, but I have failed him. I can no longer be his container." Tears fell off her now life filled eyes. "I am the girl that he turned into a monster!" she wailed.

**Kakuzu's P.O.V.**

That last part, that part was what got me. That word, 'monster.' That's what everyone thinks of me. Hidan, Itachi, hell, so does Zetsu. Even though this girl will most likely die from her injures, she and I are a lot alike. I walk over to the living spike ball with a head, and bent down. The first the movement she made, aside from speaking, she blinked and traveled her line of vision to my hand. I lifted my hand and caressed her right cheek, and brushed the stitches on it.

"You are not no one. You are," I thought of a fitting name. "Shinju. You are not Orochimaru's servant." The spikes that surrounding me and her started to retract into her skin. "You're not his slave. You are not his vessel." I soon noticed that once they were gone, that this place would collapse on our heads. I don't even know how far we are underground, if we are underground at all. "You haven't failed him; he's failed you." The sound of more stone collapsing made its way here. We need to leave soon. The spikes are almost gone. I could see her hands and parts of her feet. "You are not the girl who became the monster." The last of the spikes contracted back into her skin. Soon, I felt like falling, and we were. Apparently, we were at the top of that mirror dome. She looked me in the eye, her own red and puffy from crying. Before I knew it, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Thank you!" she cried. When she pulled away, she pointed a finger to herself with a smile. "Shinju?" I couldn't help but smile at her semi-cute action.

"Yeah, Shinju-chan. We can talk later, for now, we need to leave." She nodded happily, but her eyes suddenly shut and she screamed. As she dropped to the floor, she held herself in an attempt to stop whatever pain that was still coming to her. "Shit!" I roll up to her sleeve to see more terrible stitches all along the flat of her arm. They haven't scabbed over like they should. To make matters worse, they are bleeding. I made a few hand signs and placed my hand on the ground. "Hanten ga shōkan no justu!"(1) The two of us teleported back to the Akatsuki base. I look behind me to become face-to-face with Konan. "Konan!" I shouted. Did I just shout? I've never really screamed before. "We need to save this girl!"

(1)** that jutsu he used is called 'Reversal Summon Justu.' **

**That's a wrap! Well, I am really into this story! Tell me if it seems a little rushed, because it was. I have to do homework and I'm on a tight schedule for a while. To tell me what you think in the reviews and some ideas would be nice. Remember, I DO take requests. **


	2. Shy Reflections

**This is the second chapter to Project Mirror! X3 I REALLY apologies for all the errors in the first chapter! T^T I fixed them recently, so if you ever read back, it won't be just a bunch of rubbish. No, I'm not British nor have an English accent. I just like that word! ^_^ **

**The reasons why the last chapter had so many errors, was because I didn't reread read it. (Punches self on the head "Bad Moon, bad!") anyways, I would like reviews, and ideas for this story and others will be a big help! X3 I take requests! DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, JUST THIS OC!**

**Now, Special Thanks to: **

**OSR fanatic**

**Ita-chan 01, and**

**KITTY LOVS MATT**

**In fact, speaking of OSR fanatic, this is a VERY special thanks to him! He helped me with making an OC that will appear in this chapter, and most of the others. All credit on the second OC goes to him. As always, thanks! I love you, my little love muffins! X3**

**Chapter Two: Shy Reflections **

**Kakuzu's P.O.V.**

Me and Konan have been operating on this girl for about three hours now. Even with both of our best medical nin-jutsu, we couldn't heal the careless stitching jobs all over her body. Both of us agreed that this was the work of Orochimaru's right hand man, Kabuto. The little runt was always annoying and complained that the base was too dull, and how it wasn't 'Basking in Orochimaru-sama's glory.' Bullshit.

I wiped off the sweat off my forehead. Working in this mask and head thing was really taking its toll. I was sitting down while Konan went to do some blood tests in the other room. Now I sat next to this girl who is in the operating bed. She breathed evenly in the clear mask as the heart monitor beeped an even rhythm.

She was quiet short, at least to me anyways. She was about 5' 2". Even though we don't know her age, we'd say she's shorter than the average female. Also she was thin. Not the good thin. Like the thin in which you can see her ribs and she's nearly skin and bones. I bet they starved her. Not really a guest of honor, I presume.

She seems very weak, both physically, and mentally. So that means that she couldn't possibly be a shinobi. No threat there. If she was a villager, what village did she come from, and why was she wandering off? Unless she comes from a village with no ninja, how else should she have been captured? Before I could answer, Konan came in with some papers.

"Well," I said. "what's the news?" she glanced at the paper quickly before looking back up at me.

"So far, we only know two things about her. One, that DNA test say that she's somewhere between the ages 16 and 17. Surprising, considering her height and weight, you would think she was a few years younger. The second thing, is that of a monstrosity. I took some X-rays, and some of her bone, isn't even bone." She handed me several pictures of the girl. Some of the bones in the picture were either not visible, or they were a little hazier compared to her real bone.

"You said you found her in a labyrinth of mirrors? Well, I think that this is a key reason to solving the mystery to that. When we where operating on her, I took a quick peak in one of her wounds. Her bones where replaced with mirrors, but not all her bones. And not just any type of mirror. I took a small sample of it and put it on the Element Scanner." She handed me a form with all sorts of information on the mysterious material. "I'm going off to report to Pein-sama. I trust you can stay with her until she awakens, right?"

"Of course." She made a small nod like bow to me.

"I'm off." She turned herself into thousands of paper airplanes and took off. One drifted off and landed in my lap. Opening it, it said, _"Be careful, she might erupt into those mirror spikes you where talking about. If her chakra levels rise suddenly, alert me and/or Pein A.S.A.P."_ The note burned away into ash. I decided to take a look at the ES report again.

**(A/N: Ok, normally, I don't make Authors Notes in the middle of stories, but I want to point out that ES equals to Element Scanner. It will explain what that report is in a second.) **

"_Element: Unknown._

_Temporary Name: Regenerantis Speculum_

_Atomic Mass: 204.3_

_Periodic Label: Unknown_

_Density: 68.7 g/ml2_

_State of Matter: Interchangeable._

_Properties: is extremely dense. Doesn't break like normal mirror. Takes the pressure of 200 pounds to break. Main ingredients to this material, is a mixture of high grade glass, refined plastics, and contains users own regenerating cells. This mixture lets user create any amount of this material and use outside on their own free will. Might have dimensional warping properties."_

"Interesting." I placed the form next to her bedside table. As I loomed over her, she started to shift. Soon, she opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Shinji?" She said as she pointed to herself.

"Yeah, Shinji." As I said than, Konan and Pein walked in, both slightly shocked that the girl was awake and alive.

"Good, she's awake." Pein walked over to the front of her bed. "Now, what is your name?" Shinji fingered the edge of the blanket that was covering her and looked away shyly, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"S-shinji." As she spoke her eyes would creep up to him. As soon as they got to Pein's face, they would dart back down.

"Where are you from?"

"I d-don't know..."

"Well who are your parents?"

"I don't k-know..." I could see that Pein was losing his patience.

"Do you know of any relatives or loved ones?" Shinji looked up and around. As soon as she saw me, she looked down again. She pointed to me.

"Kakuzu?" Pein asked questionably. "What is he? Uncle, brother..." He looked at me in question again. "Daughter?" I shook my head.

"No sir." In case you couldn't tell, I never really had any 'lovers' par say.

"Well then, do you respect him?" A nod.

"I really like Kakuzu-kun!" She exclaimed happily. All three of us where surprised. She smiled at all of us with her little blush.

"Alright," Konan stated. "I think Pein-sama and Kakuzu should leave, and we can get you some new clothes. Deal?" as the two kept talking, Pein ushered me out of the room. We walked down the hall-ways for a few minutes of pure silence before he spoke up.

"Aside from the report you sent in, do you have any connection to this girl?" I quickly shake my head.

"The only thing I've really done is give her a name. When I asked her for it, she didn't know. But other than that, none at all." He did nothing but blink and continues walking. "On another note, don't you see that her behavior is kind of...childish?"

"Yes. It seems as though her mental state has been knocked down a few years. With some proper mental and physical training, and she'll catch-up with her real state of mind." He paused.

"Mia will be back anytime soon, and you know how she's not very fond of new members, right?" That's right, Mia. One of the newer members. She does have a background, but I can't get side tracked.

"Yes, it will be interesting to watch. What will you want me to do with Shinji?"

"We will most likely train her, after she is raised back to proper health. For now, she is your responsibility." I had to stop in my tracks.

"You can't be serious?" he smiled and nodded.

"She seems to trust and prefer you more. I think the others wouldn't do so well with a child." Sighing in defeat, I bow as we got to the entrance of the base. "Good. Now, I can sense Mia approaching now."

Oh boy, here we go. Normally, Mia is very friendly around the members, excluding Tobi, but when it comes to new members, she's a little on the offensive side. We think it has to do with past trust issues from her history. In a few seconds, the large base doors opened with the sunlight of a new day.

"Hey everyone, Mia Soto is back!" the 18 year old girl stated. Her large chest bobbed as she walked. No, I am not a pervert, but it's something that everyone notices when they first see her. Her straight ghost white hair went down to her chest, her eyes to match.

She was quite tall for her age. 5' 9", to be exact. She wore the same cloak as everyone else, while her under clothes where a mix of mine and Deidara's. A short sleeve belly shirt, with long pants. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The only thing different from use are her tight, black leather gloves.

"Did you complete your mission?" Pein asked.

"Yup!" She pulled out a photo of a mangled and chard body. "He didn't put up much of a fight though." As me and Pein turned and walked away, I heard him mutter something under his breath along the lines of,

"Stupid pyromaniac..."

"Hey! I am not stupid!" she said as she ran to catch up with me and Pein. He didn't turn towards her and kept walking.

"Yes, but you didn't deny the fact that your a pyromaniac." She shrugged.

"Oh, sue me." We both rolled our eyes.

"Anyways," Pein started. Here we go. "we had a little, incident you could call it, with Kakuzu's most recent mission." Mia straightened up and put on a serious face. "On the mission, Kakuzu found a teenage girl with a possibly strong jutsu. We are to raise her back to health, then it will be yours and Kakuzu's job to train her. There is no refusal. Understood?" she looked a little angry. She new that she didn't have a choice, but knowing her, she is going to make it difficult.

"Fine. Now let me see her." Pein nodded and we traveled back to Shinji's room. The walk way quiet. Mia was very tense, she never really liked new members, or at least for what we know. Mia joined the Akatsuki about three months ago. She got along well with everyone, including Sasori, but when Tobi joined, she hated him the moment they laid eyes on each other.

"We're here. Now Mia, please be nice." When we entered the room, Konan just finished putting a short sleeve green Chinese shirt on Shinji. She wore the same pants as all of us do, but a size 4 instead. As soon as she saw me, she ran to me and smile up as well. Then she looked to Mia. As soon as she did, she blushed and hid behind me, grabbing my cloak and poked about half of her face to look at Mia. I lightly push Shinji forward to Mia. Her head made it to Mia's chest. Mia squatted down to Shinji's level.

"So this is the little squirt you where talking about?" she stared at Shinji for a few second, as Shinji toyed with the slightly frilled edge of her green shirt with a blush. "So what's you name?" Shinji mumbled something, but was un-audible. "Ehh? You need to speak up. You're so short that it's hard to hear you from _all the way down there._" Mia teased.

"It's S-shinji." Mia smiled lightly.

"Shinji-chan? What a nice name." she look at me and Pein. "You know what? I like this little squirt. I think we will be great friends, ne Shinji-chan?" Shinji smiled and nodded happily_. _"That's what I like to see. Now, should she be my roommate?" the little teen scooted back behind me.

"Kakuzu-kun." We all look at her in shock. "I-I want to s-stay with K-kakuzu-kun." She requested with a timid voice.

"Well Kakuzu does have two beds. Also, she likes him more." Konan reasoned. "What do you say, Kakuzu?" I didn't really have a choose, did I?

"Do I really have a choice?" Shinji grabbed my hand with her tiny one.

"Kakuzu-kun!" she shouted loudly. Konan smile lightly and walked over to me with several items in hand.

"Ok," she started. "this is her night gowned, tooth brush, and hair brush. Make sure she uses all of them. Don't let her have too many sweets; we don't know how she is affected by sugar. Dinner will be done in 10 minutes. For now, show her around the base and make sure she knows where Pein's office is, your room, my room, Mia's room, and where the dinning room is. Got it?"

My head was spinning with commands. I swear, all that women does is give orders, even to Pein sometimes. I nodded and took the items without an argument. I turn out the room with Shinji following not far behind. We walked down with wood hallways for about 2 minutes before we got to my room.

Opening it, I go inside, nearly shutting my door on my follower. My room was plain and simple. On the left side was my bed, and a few feet away was the unused, perfectly clean one. In between them was a small wooden side table with an alarm clock. On the right, was a door and my work desk with a few bundles of money here and there.

"Alright, the door on the right is the bathroom." I said while pointing to it. "You are required to take a shower and brush your teeth everyday. Your bed is over there." I also pointed. "Do not touch anything of mine, epically my money, without permission. Do you understand?" she nodded. "Good. Now dinner will be starting soon, so go and wash your hands." She nodded again and went to the bathroom.

**With Shinji. No One's P.O.V.**

Shinji walked into the bathroom happily. When she closed the door, she took her time to look around. It was fairly normal. Wide space, white tile flooring, one sink and shower, and a mirror above the sink. Shinji ran to the mirror, excited to see her own reflection for what seemed like the first time. When she got to the sink, she almost did a double take.

She felt the stitches on her right cheek and left jaw line. They felt thicker than they looked. Her hands made their way to her hair. Some parts of her hair felt coarse, while other parts where silky smooth. As if in instinct, she placed her hand on the mirror where her face was. She made it so that her hand covered half her face, but parted her thumb so her right eye showed.

After a second, her hand got a tingling feeling. Soon, her hand started to sink in the mirror. Immediately, she pulled her hand back and caressed it. She smiled greatly and exited the bathroom. When she left, she saw Kakuzu sitting on his bed counting money.

"Kakuzu-kun! Kakuzu-kun! Look what I can do with mirrors!" she dragged him into the bathroom and placed her hand back on the mirror. After a few seconds of concentration, her hand started to sink in. "See! I can do magic with the mirrors!" Kakuzu stared bewildered at the mirror.

"Where did you learn that?" He asked mystified. She shrugged.

"I don't know. I just put my hand there, concentrate hard, and done. Magic!" Shinji responded with one hand for emphasis. Kakuzu stared at her for a few seconds before sighing.

"I can tell that you're going to be a big handful." After she took her hand out of the mirror, Kakuzu walked out of their room and into the hallway, with Shinji trailing him of course. After a few seconds, Kakuzu noticed that Shinji was not even a foot behind him. As they walked, they came across Konan. Upon seeing them, Konan gestured them too her. The moment Kakuzu stopped walking, Shinji, who was still walking, bumped right into Kakuzu's back. Konan held up her hands to her face and squealed into them.

"Oh my God! Its official, you are the cutest thing to walk on this planet!" Konan yelled after she scooped up the unexpected Shinji with a bear hug.

"Uh, you where going to tell me…what exactly?" stated to the only male in the hall. Konan, who just realized what she just did, put Shinji down, coughed, and returned to her normally cold and icy manor.

"As I was saying, dinner is ready. I've told the rest of the group about your situation, and now they await yours and Shinji's arrival." Kakuzu nodded and the three traveled the rest of the way to the dining hall.

**Dining Hall. Shinji's P.O.V.**

We kept walking down this hall for about a minute, but seemed like a lot longer. Oh, I'm so nervous to see the others. Would they be kind like Konan-chan, or slightly cold like Kakuzu? Maybe they are really big and scary. Oh, these hallways just seem to get longer and longer. Oh dear, I think the halls are spinning. Make it stop! Make it stop!

"Well everyone, this is the infamous, Shinji-chan." Konan-chan announced after opening the double wood doors. All full sets of eight eyes set on me, only in which two of them I knew. Under all the attention, I blushed and hid myself halfway behind Kakuzu-kun under the stares. Konan-chan, this blonde boy, a tall blue skinned man, and a guy with a swirled orange mask, looked like they were about to explode in happiness.

"Aww, Shinji-chan looks so cute/un!" they all pick me up and hugged me until I couldn't breath. But when the masked guy tried to hug me, the blonde hair guy lifted his foot and set it on his face, so that he was running in place with outstretched arms.

"Like Hell you're touching her, un!"

"But Tobi wants to hug cute girl-chan!" from behind us, I heard Kakuzu-kun take a deep breath.

"Everyone, shut up! And let Shinji go, she's turning blue." They simultaneously let me drop to the floor, but I was able to barely catch myself, barely. "This is Shinji. Treat her like everyone else, and no harassing her. Now leave and go back to your seats." Everyone did so with a few of their heads hanging low in embarrassment.

"So what's for dinner? I'm fucking starving!" Konan wiped around with a wooden spoon in her hand and pointed it at the man, which splattered him in an unknown liquid.

"Be patient! And Hidan, please try to restrain from swearing in front of Shinji-chan." So that was his name. "Oh! I just realized that we never introduced Shinji-chan to everyone! Boys!" Konan-chan shouted again. "Be polite!" the one who hasn't even moved an inch stood up.

"My name is Itachi. 'San' will be fine." And sat back down. The man with the weird mask got up with such an extreme glee, I thought I would die from the rainbows and unicorns radiating off him.

"Tobi's name is Tobi! And I think your stitches are cool, just like Kakuzu-sempai!" in embarrassment, I hid my arms behind me that also had several stitches on them. The blonde that blocked Tobi away from me stood up after him.

"Don't listen to him, he's just an idiot, un. My names Deidara, un! And art is fleeting, un!" Suddenly, a cold draft whirled in and Deidara sneezed. He shook from the chill and sat down. As soon as he did, a weird man that I didn't see 'til now stood up. He was exactly half white and black and had this odd plant casing around his head.

"We are **Zetsu. That is **all you need to **know.**" Instead of sitting back down, he walked out of the room. Curious, I tugged on Kakuzu-kun's sleeve. He looked down on me.

"Where is Zetsu-san going?" he looked slightly panicked at my question.

"Uh, that's not something you need to know." Strange. Anyways, the blue skinned man stood up. I think it was cool that he had blue skin, it's my favorite color anyways.

"I am Kisame. A 'kun' will be accepted." He sat back down proudly next to Itachi. Lastly, Hidan stood up.

"I'm Hidan. You better not fu- I-I mean..." Me and Hidan look over to Konan-chan who was glaring daggers at him. "I mean…you better not mess with me! That is all." After the introductions, we all sat down at the long table, minus Zetsu-san and Pein-sama.

"All right," Konan announced as she balanced several silver trays on her hands and arms. "tonight, we're having smoked salmon!" most people looked happy, but Kisame-san looked a little sick.

"I think I will sit this one out." He said glumly and walked out. The other shrugged with me and we served ourselves once the trays where set. When I took mine, I didn't even have to taste it to tell that it was amazing! The sweet savory seasons portions perfectly in every square inch, the salmon a pleasant shade of pink, the way Kakuzu-kun got up and walked away with his plate- wait. Why is Kakuzu-kun leaving?

I didn't really know where to go. Stay here, or go with Kakuzu-kun? I look back and forth as Kakuzu-kun walked away. While the others where eating or where talking amongst themselves, I got off from my seat with plate in hand and ran to Kakuzu-kun. When I caught up to him, we walked back to his room.

"You followed me?" he asked. I nodded happily. Why would I not? "Go back to the others." He demanded. I shook my head and smiled. "I warned you." He took off his headband and white head…thingy.

He had stitches on the side of his lips going all the way back to his ears. He had messy dark brown hair that went a little past his shoulders and lightly spiked at the ends. With my free arm, I felt the stitches on my right arm. I smiled brightly.

"We're the same!" a flash of shock past through his eyes, but went away just as fast.

"But we are more different than you think." Ignoring what he said, I sat next to him happily and started to eat my meal. After a few minutes of silence, I stopped eating.

"Kakuzu-kun, was I… scary?" he looked over at me.

"What do you mean?" I fiddled with my chop sticks for a few seconds. I didn't really know myself what I meant.

"Well, I never saw what I looked like when you saved me. I wanted to know if I was… weird, strange, different.." I looked up at him with worry. He looked off in the small distance of the room. Kakuzu-kun didn't really seem as though he was paying attention, and more in his own world. "Its ok, you don't have to answer that."

His expression didn't change. "Do the others treat you differently?" his eyes brightened again and looked at me with annoyance.

"Why does that matter to you?" He asked sternly. I looked back down to my nearly empty plate. Why did I want to know? So far, all my questions where flying out of my mouth. It was a simple question, is it…that bad? Do the others treat him so differently, that it's hard to talk about? I'm sure it doesn't matter to him though.

"Kakuzu-kun, I think I'll go to bed." He made a sigh of relief.

"Fine. Here are your things." He hands me the bundle that Konan-chan gave him before dinner. "I expect you to know what to do to get ready for bed. Good night." He got up with his plate and mine and left. Did I really upset him?

**That's a wrap! Well, I have a Poll on my page, and if you want me to update this story or others, you should take it. The one with the most votes gets updated every Friday. In the reviews, I would like some plot, romance, humor, or** **other ideas. Plus, I take requests! Thank you! X3 Ja Ne!**

**-Moon made of Ink**


	3. Waterproof, Almost

**I'm baaack!~ Oh yes, I'm having fun with this chapter, as far as you can tell! X3 Ok, so I would like some idea's, because like all my other stories, I have building blocks, but I need the cement to put it together. So that will be a big help! Keep up the review, and I take requests/ideas! IMPORTANT NOTE!: Ik that I keep moving the OC's name around, but it is PERMINATLY Shinji. It just flows and sounds better than Shinju X3 DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, ONLY THIS OC AND PLOT! **

**Now a special thanks to: **

**,**

**OSR fantic,**

**FallenBleedingAngel, and**

**Sockmonkies4ever.**

** Thanks little love muffins! Love you all, so send in those reviews X3**

**Project Mirror **

**Chapter 3: Waterproof, Almost.**

**Shinju's P.O.V.**

"Kakuzu-kun, Kakuzu-kun. Wake up." No luck. I tried to push him awake, but it didn't work. Man, what am I suppose too do now? I look to the cheap looking alarm clock to read it as 7:37. I'm scared to wake the other members up, but I'm too scared.

I hate being a weakling. The only ones that I can talk to without being scared are Kakuzu-kun and Konan-chan. All the others are too scary. After some thought, my stomach growled. I slowly got out of bed and started to wander the halls.

"Hungry…" After some wandering, I soon realized something.

No one showed me around the base.

Sure I went from the kitchen to me and Kakuzu-kun's room once, but I can't remember the route. I looked side to side, trying to find something, anything familiar. Still nothing. Finally, I came to a large double door with a circular window on each side.

Wait, this looks familiar… It's the kitchen! I would have yelled that, but I was afraid someone would wake up and get mad at me. I didn't want to make a bad impression on my third day. I walked slowly into the kitchen, tip toeing my way. I turned around to close the door, trying my best to make the clicking noise as soft as possible.

"Hey there shrimp." I practically jumped out of my skin as I dove for cover behind a near by plant. I took a peak for behind to find the man with blue skin sitting with the man with blond hair at the dining table. It appeared as though they were in the middle of an important discussion before I came in. On their plates, was some steaming dango. My mouth watered at the sight and smell, but I mentally shook it off. Dango is not breakfast.

But I wish it was.

"What are you doing up so early, un?" I could hear that he was trying to sound annoyed, but he failed and let his mouth crack into a smile.

Why does everyone smile at me?

"Uh, I w-was just getting something to eat." I picked at the dark blue flannel night gowned with my eyes averted. I sat in silence as they watched me, almost as if they were waiting for me to make a move. After sometime, I quickly ran into the kitchen, hearing them try to stifle their laughter after I left.

Those meanies, making fun of me because I was new.

New and short.

When I was behind a wall, I turned in their general direction and stuck my tongue out at them. When I turn around and walk forward, I slam into something. Looking up, I found Konan-chan, who looked down on me with a happy smile. She squealed into her balled fist and then picked me off the ground like I was some little animal that needs attention.

"Oohhhh! Your soooooo cute!" She crushed me in her arms, probably breaking a few bones if she wanted too. I managed to flail my hands and feet, being as they were the only things that I could move.

"Konan-chan…you're…crushing….me." She seemed to realize what she was doing, and quickly dropped me to the floor. My vision blurred for a second as the blood rushed back to my head. Due to my lack of vision, I stumbled a little bit until I caught onto Konan-chan. I caught wind of small headache, due to the loss of air to my brain.

What? You would to if you were just crushed into oblivion.

"Thanks, but what and why are you wearing?"

Did I forget to mention that she was wearing a frilly pink apron?

"Oh, I was just making pancakes." A pancake… I haven't had one of those in…uh, a few weeks? I don't remember.

I looked up at her as she went back to the stove.

"Can I have some, Konan-chan?" I saw her stop what she was doing and her shoulders start to shake. She turned around with a huge smile on her face.

"Of course you can sweetheart!" She turned right back around and sang and danced as she worked.

I like her a little more, I think. That's if she wasn't literally crazy.

I left the room and sat down as far away as I could from the two from before. They looked and me for a second, then turned back around to what they were doing. I looked out of a large window and watched as the sunlight pour into the room, making the temperature rise a few notches to a comfortable level. I don't remember the last time I was outside, but I was dying to get that sun on my skin.

I got up from my spot and laid on the cool but heating wood. Closing my eyes, the sun's rays warmed me up at steady pace, perfect for my liking. It seemed like forever, but the moment Konan-chan walked through the kitchen, Kakuzu-kun came through the other door as well. I shot up from my place and tackled him with a hug.

"Ohayo, Kakuzu-kun!" I practically yelled into his clothes.

"Pancakes are ready!" Konan-chan yelled the same time as me. Kakuzu looked in her direction and started to walk to the table, even as I stayed attached to his leg. When he picked up his plate, he plucked me off and put me down on a chair.

"You're going to stay here." Pouting, I jumped off my chair. I'm loyal, but was I going to stay put?

Probably not.

I started to run to him, but when I was about to grab onto him, he shot me with a terrifying glare. I'm not exaggerating when I say that. His eyes bore into my own, sending me shaking in fear. "I said, you're staying here." I pulled back my hand and watched him leave. With a defeated sigh, I sat back down at my spot and began to eat as a few others came in. One was that guy with silver hair, and another was the guy with red eyes. I think their names are Hidan and Itachi. It appeared as though Hidan was having an extravagant conversation with Itachi.

"…and that's when I said, 'You're gonna fucking die bitch!' and I totally sliced his damn head off! Man did it feel as good as ever!" Itachi looked off in the distance, completely ignoring Hidan as he rambled on, I think, was killing a person.

I'm sorry person.

Right when he finished his sentence, he got pierced with something, and got stuck to the wall with something thrown by Konan-chan. 

"Don't you dare use that language around our little angel!"

"So, there's a festival today at the little village near here. Should we go?" Kisame asked, now that everyone but Kakuzu was at the table, some finishing their meal.

"Pein-sama," Konan-chan asked very formally. She always seemed more strict and proper around him. "Should we take this day off?" Pein closed his cool ringed eyes and went into deep thought. As he was thinking, Hidan walked to the door to leave.

"And Pein-sama, while you're at it, do you know were Mia is? She needs to give me my frickin' weapons back." At least he remembered his language around me. Right as he grabbed the door handle,

_**BAM! **_

The door got smashed down, sending Hidan flying and breaking through the window. When the dust cleared, Mia stood at the door with her leg raised; showing that she apparently kicked the door to pieces. We all watched in silence as she slowly walked to the table. Her head hanged, her white hair tossed and turned in every direction. She's wearing an overly baggy shirt with blue boxer shorts underneath, but her large shirt is so long that made it almost impossible to see. When she sat, her head started to fall forward into the path of plate with syrup covered pancakes. Before she could be fully woken up in a very unpleasant way, Itachi swiftly replaced the plate with a puffy oven mitt.

"That was a close one." Kisame whispered. I looked at Kisame in confusion. She seemed like a nice and respectful person, so why in the world would she kick Hidan out a window? "Well, Mia has a bad case of insomnia, and from the very little sleep she gets, she has unpleasant dreams. No one really knows what of, but they're bad enough to make sleep unpleasant for her." The two of us looked back at her, her back rising very slowly. "This, makes her a very bad morning person. And if you were wondering, she has almost nothing against Hidan. " Almost?

Right then, Itachi gently lifted her head and gazed into her half dead eyes.

"Kisame-san, what's Itachi-san doing?" the neat design in his eye started to spin.

"Turns out that Mia had a rough night. You see, if Mia gets _really_ bad sleep, Itachi has to pull her out of the little trance she's in." when his eyes stopped moving, Mia blinked a few times and looked around.

"Am I in the kitchen?" She quietly asked, her words slurred. Everyone nodded. She looked to the smashed window with a Hidan shaped break in it. You could faintly hear cursing from where he landed in the outside world. "Did I make the hole?" We nodded. "Was it Hidan?" Nod. "Good." She smiled. Itachi went back to his seat like nothing had happened and started to read the book he put down.

Lord of the Flies.

Cool name.

Mia stretched her arms with a small smile on her face. "So, what were we talking about before I..uh…" She looked for the right word. "Barged in?" Pein cleared his throat and stood up.

"We're debating whether or not to go to Hansha no Matsuri. **(1)**Tomorrow we're busy, and today is the only available day we can go." Kakuzu walked through what was left of the door. He looked at the door frame and the broken window.

"Who did this?" He sounded _very _angry. So much so, that I started to sink into my seat, even though it wasn't my fault. No one said a word as he examined every one of us. "Well?" Mia put her arm over her eyes in a dramatic way and threw herself out of the chair onto the floor.

"Oh I confess!" She pointed to Hidan, who just crawled back through the window in a very unceremonial way. "Hidan did it!" Kakuzu's head shot towards Hidan, who's pulling out shards of glass from all over his body. He strutted to him, grabbed him by his hair, and dragged him into the hall way. Seconds later, you could hear cursing and fist beating skin. It scared me. This scares me. In instinct, I shut my eyes and covered my ears with my hands, blocking out the noise.

It wasn't that I was scared for Hidan, he seems indestructible, but I was scared for Kakuzu. Is he this mean and scary to everyone else too? After a few seconds, I felt a something tap my shoulder, causing me to jump in my seat. I looked to Mia, who looked kinda worried.

"Are you ok? You've been sitting like that for 10 minutes now." I looked around to find everyone has left, even a few plates still sat at the table.

What? That's impossible! I just closed my eyes for a few second, that's all!

"Maybe you were just a little tried is all. But anyway," She got up from her seat and bent down to my level. "We're all going to the festival! Well, everyone but Zetsu." She winked at me. "You better get ready. I have a very special dress for you."

"You look so pretty in your yukata Shinji-chan!~" **(2) **she remarked. Now I knew what she meant by a special dress. It felt strange as it hugged my stomach and chest but my arms and legs are free to move.

The dress is black and white with this cool black swirled design. The cool belt on me, which I learned is an Obi, is yellow with a pretty bow in the back. I looked in the mirror and turn around, looking at my back to see a fan stuck between me and the bow.

"Thank you, Mia-chan." I was still in shock myself.

"Well, we're going to have to take that off for now. The festival doesn't start until sunset, so we have time to kill." As she began to help me out of the yukata, I wondered if you could actually _kill _time. I dressed myself in my normal clothes, which today are light wash jeans with a slightly baggy blue t-shirt.

"Can I play outside until we have to go?" I asked hopefully. I loved the outdoors, but I haven't been outside in a while. She thought while reorganizing her closet.

"Sure," I smiled greatly and was about to dash out of the room when she grabbed my shoulder. "but, Kakuzu has to watch you." At first, I slouched my shoulders, but then I almost sprang out of the room in excitement.

Yay, finally! I get to spend time with Kakuzu-kun! I lightly muttered his name over and over under my breath as I ran. Right when I was about to open the door, someone beat me to the chase. Looking up, it turned out to be Kakuzu.

"Kakuzu-kun!" I hugged him, and my face made contact with his stomach. Hmm, that's weird, I thought I was shorter.

"What do you want?"

"Mia-chan said I could play outside if you go with me!" I gave him my best smile, which according to Konan, can 'make any man melt.' I don't know how being able to make men melt with a smile is a good talent, but who knows.

"Ugh, fine. But I left my wallet in my room, go get it." He then walked out of the room, even though he was perfectly capable of getting his wallet himself. I walked back into his room and picked up the old and tattered wallet. Right as I was about to leave the room, I heard something fall in the bathroom.

"What was that?" I stuffed the wallet into my jean pockets and headed into the bathroom. Expecting something like a glass or a bottle to have fallen, nothing was out of place. The sink was clean, the shower looks normal, and the tiles are clean. Before I left, something fell on my head. Reaching up and taking it off the mysterious object, it turned out to be a small piece of mirror. "What in the world?"

I looked up to the sink mirror, to see the top corner of the mirror broken off.

That reminds me, I _need _to investigate about this thing I can do. I'm just _too_ curious to pass on the opportunity.

I looked side to side, checking to make sure that no one's watching. I placed my hands and my forehead on the mirror and concentrated, just like before. In seconds, my hands and head start to go into the mirror. My heart started pounding, my eye grew wide as my vision went white for a split second. When the light cleared, I saw something that's, out of this world. Literally.

The scenery is black with swirled dark purple, the background always changing like it was water Never stopping. I looked around, and everywhere are different pictures. Some showed empty rooms, most of them had girls or boy inspecting them, mostly girls applying make-up. Each one had a shape. Some squares, circles, even just tiny broken shards.

Are those… other, mirrors?

Most pictures where just blank rooms, but one caught my eye. It was in a mutated sort of shape, and the picture it showed is the blue sky with passing clouds.

Now, how to get there?

I had to climb and concentrate, bringing my person into the whole mirror. When I fit my body through, I was expecting to be weightless and float like it was nothing, but no.

I was dead wrong.

It had some pressure, as if I was swimming, but I didn't get wet and I can breathe. But the effort to travel is just like traveling in water. The distance between me and my destination felt a lot longer than it actually was. I thought I would be eager to go through the other side, but something stopped me.

What was on the other side? Was it dangerous? Could, I be hurt?

No, I can do this. I can be brave, like Kakuzu.

I nodded to myself and put my hands through the opening, trying to grasp onto something. When I found something to help me out, I was sorta surprised when my handle for the other side was the dirt ground of the outdoors.

"You can do this, Shinji." It was quite easier than I thought to pull myself out of the hole…portal…thingy.

Whatever you call it.

But it seems today that I discovered that I have a lot of upper arm strength, thus making this task of lifting myself, very simple. Since I wanted to keep the surprise for when I completely got out of the portal, I shut my eyes until I was able to place my feet in-

Water?

I looked down at my feet to find me standing in a small puddle. Good thing I didn't wear any socks or shoes. As I focused on the puddle, I saw the clouds being reflected onto the water's surface. When I jumped around in the puddle, the picture broke apart like tiny worms swiftly dancing around.

…Don't judge…

When I looked up, I wasn't really expecting to be in the middle of a farm.

I turned to be face-to-face with a cow slowly chewing its grass. I stayed frozen as the animal gave out a lazy call, and return to its meal. I turned the other way to see an old and tired looking farmer in a mid-working position. He gave me the same lazy look as the cow and went back to work.

"It's those darn moles again…" he continued to mumble nonsense as I walked away, trying my best to stay away from the cows and their, er…droppings.

I'm not really sure where to go, but as soon as got out of that farm, I was met with thick, dense woods. The warm breeze blew, twirling my hair with its fingers, inviting me inside it's layer. Once I was inside, it blinded me.

Leaves and dirt swirled around me, when I tried to walk, branches poked my sides, creatures hissed at me, telling me to stay away from whatever was hiding in natures shadow. I felt around for something, anything to support me as my blinded feet slipped. Instead of meeting the dirt like I intended, it felt like I was falling from a great height. After opening my eyes, turns out that feeling was right. I was falling down a dirt hill, tumbling and covering myself in dirt and scratches from the tiny but sharp pebbles underneath me. After what felt like forever, the terror stopped. When my vision cleared out again, I shakily stood, trying to get a look from my surroundings.

Well, it looked just like the forest, only darker.

Something dawned on me as my stomach made an angry growl.

How in the world was I supposed to get back?

I looked in front of me to see a slow moving brook, the only thing peaceful in the forest. I sat at the edge, starting at my distorted reflection, trying to sort out the issue currently at hand.

Wait, water!

That's it! If I traveled through water to get here, then I can just travel right back!

Standing up in joy, I focused back like normally. Slowly, I let my body fall, drifting off into-

_**SPLASH!**_

Water.

What the heck? It didn't work! I looked down at my soaked clothes in disappointment. I felt tears daring to spill over my eyes, my lower lip quivering.

"How am I supposed to get back home now?"

**Festival of Reflections. **

**For those of you who aren't very knowledgeable in Japanese culture, a yukata in similar to a kimono. Still confused? Google it.**

**Yeah, short chapter I know, but it fits…. In a way. (coughs) Anyways, ideas would be fantastic, and request will be takin'! IMPORTANT NOTE NUMBER 2: Jsyk, in this story, I'm making Kakuzu in his early twenties, so that it's not really like a creepy old geezer having a crush on a teenage girl and visa versa. But, that's all! R&R! Ja ne!**

**-Moon make of Ink**


	4. I'M NOT DEAD!

**I'M NOT DEAD!**

Please hear me out! I apologize greatly for not updating for a LONG time, and I know people get annoyed for not uploading their stories. (trust me, I know) But please listen:

I've been getting really sucked into school, and I thought I did well this semester, turns out I didn't T.T So, I need to get my head back in the game, but now I'll try to spend a little free time to working a little more on my stories.

There have been some problems going on personally, friend and family wise, so it's been energy draining and stress filled, so yeah.

2nd most importantly!- I know the most important thing about writing is the quality and how good it is (voice in head: "No shit Sherlock.") (Glares) Anyways, I've been doing a lot of self-studying, and scrap writing (like sketch dumps, but for writing) And you wouldn't _believe _how much I've improved! So I'm posting this on every chapter, and I'll remove it and post the next chapter to what every this story is and you'll get the update. I'm sorry for the delays!

P.S. My dA account name is the same as this, but they have little '–' in between each word. But I must warn you, my art isn't anywhere near as good as my writing. And I will be doing Hetalia fanfic soon too! If you're going to do a 'review' for this 'chapter' saying, 'oh it's fine' or something….

Please don't do that.

If you want to say that to me, send me a PM because I don't like it when someone says that and it counts as a review, it makes me feel guilty ;A;

That's all!

Hasta la Pasta!~

Love,

Moon made of Ink


End file.
